Calloway

Calloway was a great dog. I know everyone loves their dogs, but Calloway was extra special. He was big (100 pounds +) handsome, very smart and friendly, he had an effect on people, more than one person saying, "I don't even like dogs, but I LOVE Calloway!"
We don't know much about Calloway's first 4 years, but he was abandoned, ran wild in the hills near LA, and ended up in a high-kill shelter. I can't believe anyone could give up on such a great dog. A Seattle rescue outfit, DoggoneSeattle.org shipped Calloway to the Seattle area where I met him on a farm, in April of 2017, Calloway was friendly and leaned on me immediately. The foster dog parent said "I can't believe how quickly he's taken to you" Calloway chose me! I was told Calloway couldn't be around cats or dogs, especially small dogs. When Toni and I reconnected after being apart for 32 years, we had a problem, as she had 2 small Yorkies. We employed a dog trainer, she had many insights, including that Calloway had probably been on a chain, and been attacked by other dogs. The dog trainer worked with him, and in time, Calloway was OK sharing a home with little dogs. Over the years Calloway lived well, gained confidence and calmed down considerably.
After retiring, we moved from the Seattle area to central Pennsylvania, Calloway enjoyed his rural residential surroundings for the last 6.5 years. Calloway was affectionate, and enjoyed attention, our son Patrick would come over and spend the first ten minutes saying hello to Calloway, followed by 5 minutes of removing Calloway's hair with a lint roller. My sister Cheryl called him a Love Sponge, and he was. We loved Calloway and he loved us, he was extremely long lived for a German Shepherd, he would've been 14 years old this October, I don't think he wanted it to end.